


All Eyes On You

by contemporarydreamer



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (kind of), Alcohol, Anal Sex, Casual Sex, Love at First Sight, Lust, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Songfic, almost, unrealistically finding each other after meeting once in a university of over 40k students au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-03 22:53:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2891078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/contemporarydreamer/pseuds/contemporarydreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short story about promises and what sure as hell feels like love (lust?) at first sight. </p><p>Based on All Eyes On You by St. Lucia</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Eyes On You

**Author's Note:**

> READ WHILE LISTENING TO ALL EYES ON YOU BY ST. LUCIA GUYS I SWEAR THE ENTIRE FIC IS BASED ON THAT SONG

They're not much sure of anything at this point in their lives; they're young adults. They're in uni and they skip classes for parties and wisps of weed linger in their lungs always and when they're not laughing, it's because they're drinking beer, and life is pretty good, even though they don't know anything yet. 

The thing about university is that music is everywhere, booming in hallways at parties or out of earphones, and when it's not, it's still playing vaguely somewhere in the back of your head, and that may be the only thing they're completely sure of. 

The first time they meet is at a party, Louis's or Matt's or Nick's? No one knows in university; nothing is a big deal in uni, ever. Zayn's had three beers, Harry's buzzed on the punch, and the alcohol is flowing through their veins, flirting with their blood, taking half of their weight off their bodies. 

Alcohol is a trickster; it woos muscles into stepping out of their comfort zones, cajoles lips into smirking when they wouldn't normally, creates imaginary gravitational pulls between tongues. Alcohol is clever, but it's not what draws Zayn and Harry to each other. 

Harry is dancing carelessly, drunk off of adrenaline, and Zayn is leaning against the wall closest to the bar, and some pop-electronica song is playing when their eyes lock. Zayn can't help it-he immediately smiles, partly because of the song, partly because he's been thinking of that scene from Ratatouille when he mixed strawberries with cheese (alright, he's a little more than tipsy). He sees stars and swirls and zap!s in Harry's eyes, and maybe that's another reason for his grin. Harry's smile takes a bit longer. He tries to give Zayn an intense stare, which works for about four seconds, but then a smile breaks through his whole face; dimples crack into his checks, his eyes crinkle, and Zayn thinks it's the best thing he's ever seen. Zayn bites at his own smile and wonders how he can feel so delirious when he's not even that drunk. 

Because it's not high school, they don't waste time staring at each other from opposite ends of the room, waiting for the other to make a move. Harry moves, and Zayn moves, and they collide into each other in the middle, and blinding lights shine in their eyes. 

"I'm Harry."  
"Zayn."  
"Nice to meet you."  
"You've been staring at me."  
"I could say the same to you."  
"You could." 

They stare at a each other for a few more seconds, then Harry's hand comes out to tug at Zayn's belt loop. 

"So, do..." Harry begins, but then someone behind Zayn bumps into him and he thuds into Harry's chest. They smirk at each other, or rather, into each other's skin. 

"Yeah," Zayn answers and reaches up to brush Harry's lower lip with his thumb. Harry leans in. Zayn leans in. They're so close that they can feel their auras blending together. Harry huffs out a laugh that lands on Zayn's lips, and Zayn can feel the chorus of the song echoing off of the insides of his skull. Harry's right there, and Zayn's right there, then, 

"Zayn! Mate, we gotta go, we gotta go. Neighbor called the cops, apparently. Lou's dead wasted. I've got early class tomorrow. It's. Yeah. We have to go." 

It's Liam, Zayn's best friend who Zayn would probably pretend to not recognize had the threat of the police not been mentioned. 

Harry's mouth falls open and Zayn doesn't even know what to tell him. _Sorry_? _Come home with me_? _Come stay with me for a bit so we're never faced with this problem again _? Naturally, what he does say isn't so much a sentence, but a choked noise in the back of his throat. Harry looks offended at both him and Niall, but that passes and then he looks sad.__

__"Wait, it's," Zayn tries. "Next time, yeah? I'll find you."_ _

Harry gives him a look as if to say _Really? In a university of over forty thousand people, you think we'll find each other again?_ Zayn gives him the most reassuring look he can and nods. 

__"Promise?"  
"Course" _ _

__That's the crucial promise, and it's made to some cliché pop song._ _

__~*~*~*~_ _

__"Liam."_ _

__"Yeah."_ _

__"Remember the party on Friday?"_ _

__"Duh."_ _

__"Ok, remember, like, two hours into the party, this upbeat electronic song played. Remember?"_ _

__"Zayn, if you think I remember everything that happened, you're severely overestimating my intoxicated sta-"_ _

__"-No, just, think for a minute. It was like. It was pretty good, there were drums and I kept hearing the word 'eyes' and there was a saxophone somewhere in there I think"_ _

__"Mate...has the time come? Are you coming out of your brooding R &B phase?" _ _

__"Why are we even friends?"_ _

__

__~*~*~*~*~_ _

__

__"Ni."_ _

__"Yeah."_ _

__"How many pop electric songs do you know?"_ _

__"None, Haz. It sort of contrasts with my rock hipster vibe."_ _

_Sigh._

__~*~*~*~*~_ _

__Zayn tries to live up to his promise, but of course, finding one boy in a campus with thousands of people is less than likely, so he resorts to simply keeping an eye open for Harry at all times._ _

__Oh, and listening pop-electronica all day._ _

__~*~*~*~*~_ _

__Honestly, Harry can't say he doesn't frequently fall in love with strangers. He doesn't mind it, in fact, it's one of his favorite things about himself. He'll see a girl on the city bus with an Afro and doc martens, or a soft-looking boy lost in a hoodie and he'll swoon for a few minutes, maybe approach them and flirt aimlessly, but it passes, because he can't actually fall in love with every cute person he sees. So he tries his best to get them into bed, and that's his main source of excitement. It's not like he succeeds every single time, so he doesn't understand why he's so upset that Zayn left before anything happened between them. It's silly, he knows, to pine after a stranger ("a _beautiful_ stranger, mind you"), but it's not even pining so much as it is being disappointed that he missed such a glorious opportunity, I mean, you don't see someone like Zayn every day. _ _

__Harry's not too naive, he knows he'll probably never see Zayn again, so he doesn't let himself get too hung up over it; just another cute boy that got away. Simple as that. In fact, Harry specializes in _oversimplifying_ things. It's uni! Don't take anything too seriously, right? Not that his exes appreciate him for it; nearly every one of them stormed off in a rage of "your friend? Harry we've been together for _months_! You don't take me seriously enough to say we're in a relationship after months? Fine, Harry. Fine! Then find someone else to call your friend!" or “we’ve been sleeping together for two weeks and you don’t even know my _last name_?”_ _

__He doesn't mind, though. He knows he can't have it all, but he can sure as hell try, with flings and parties and fuck buddies. He can sure as hell try._ _

__~*~*~*~_ _

__Zayn's given up, at this point. What stranger would actually expect him to fulfill his promise, right? That doesn't stop him from mentioning Harry every so often around the flat. Louis laughs every time, because "mate, you don't even know his last name", and Liam's actually taken to worrying, Zayn can tell, by the narrow-eyed looks he gives him._ _

__It's not that he's in love with this stranger; he's just crestfallen because it could have been so fun. The music was playing and there was a pull between them and Harry was so soft looking and curly and gorgeous and he probably has a great personality too and, maybe Zayn _is_ in love with him--the thought, the essence of him. _ _

__"It's like Leo again but you don't even know this guy," Liam huffs one morning while Zayn blasts pop-electronica to make vacuuming bearable._ _

__"Leo?" Zayn sputters for a moment before going off again. "Leo and I dated for months, Liam-"_ _

__"Months as in four and a half weeks," Louis retorts from somewhere in the kitchen._ _

__"Months, of course I was hung up over him. Harry's just a cute boy that got away. Really cute. Something was definitely going to happen if you hadn't interrupted, speaking of which"_ _

__"Whatever mate, all hope is lost for you if you're falling in love after 15 seconds together."_ _

__~*~*~*~_ _

__Naturally, when they do see each other again, Zayn actually has let it go. Harry hasn't, but the girl on his arm would beg to differ._ _

__It's in the depths of the university library, way down deep amongst the shelves, where you only go when it's the day before your final and you've barely opened your textbook, when you absolutely need to seclude yourself from all civilization._ _

__Zayn's surprised Harry even recognizes him because he's dressed so differently from the way he dresses for parties; he's buried in a large hoodie and loose jeans, his hair is down and loose, there are probably dark circles under his eyes, yet a surprised "Zayn?" comes his way. He looks up, startled and slightly irritated._ _

__Oh. He narrows his eyes._ _

__"...Harry?"_ _

__Harry goes for a half grin. "Hey. Looks like I found you, huh?" Zayn chuckles, smiles._ _

__Harry only notices the girl on his arm when she tries to feed him a cookie from a recently opened box that they probably bought for the occasion._ _

__"Oh, uh, this is Ash. Ash, this is Zayn. Zayn and I met at a party, actually," he looks at Zayn and smiles mischievously because of course the story doesn't make sense. "We just sort of hit it off," he finishes._ _

__"Right. Nice to meet you, Ash."_ _

__"You too," she says politely, though she tightens her grip on Harry's arm._ _

__A moment of silence passes during which Harry looks from Zayn to Ash and tries to conceal the fact that he would choose Zayn any day, and then Zayn says "so you guys procrastinated too?", which of course prompts Harry to plop down across from him and launches them into a conversation about how fucked they are and how they're never going to procrastinate again and how classes suck but if they limit sleep to two hours a night they should do okay on finals._ _

Ash is a sweet girl, Zayn learns, but that doesn't stop the small smile of triumph that forms on his face when she announces that she "really _should_ get some sleep". 

__So then it was just Zayn and Harry, sitting across from each other on opposite bookshelves. Harry scoots up so he's sitting next to Zayn and says, "so, art history?"_ _

__"Yeah. I'm a huge art nerd."_ _

__"Yeah? What got you into it?" And Harry wants to know, he does. He wants to find out more about this beautiful stranger, and when Zayn smiles and starts to answer about how he was the quiet kid in the art room back at school, somewhere deep in his head, the cliché pop-electronica song starts playing._ _

__They don't sleep at all (because really, how could they?); they buy a six-pack of Starbucks espresso shots and multiple bags of Hot Cheetos and study all night (or rather, all morning), taking breaks every so often to talk and watch episodes of Friends._ _

__Finally, finally at about eight am, Zayn feels prepared enough to make a B on his final, and Harry is long passed out on his thigh._ _

__"Haz," he nudges him. Finals are in two hours. Harry doesn’t budge. He tries again._ _

__"Wha? I'm up," Harry rasps. "Is the test over?"_ _

__"Hasn't started, babe. You have to go take it in, like, two hours."_ _

__"Shit. I was hoping I'd studied and taken it in a haze that I'd forgotten."_ _

__"If only."_ _

__"Alright, well, I'm gonna go back to my flat and cram, but good luck!"_ _

"Thanks," Zayn nods, smiles, waiting. _Surely it won't end like this, right?_

__Harry turns to leave and then stops mid-step and spins back around._ _

__"Um. My roommate is throwing a party, tonight, to celebrate the end of the first final. It's sort of stupid, because we have more, but. It's a small thing. So. If you wanna come, that'd be great." He scratches the back of his neck. "Uh. Yeah. You should. If you want."_ _

_Finally_ , Zayn thinks. "Cool, I'll be there." And Harry rattles off the address and continues back to his flat, a smile the size of the moon on his face. 

__~*~*~*~_ _

__"Guys!" Zayn had just finished his final (which he probably did score a B on), and rushes into the apartment. “I found Harry! Or actually, he found me, we were in the library, well, I was in the library and he came in, and he was with this girl, never mind her, and he looked so good and I can't believe it act-"_ _

__"Harry?" Louis interrupted._ _

"No, Lance Armstrong. _Yes_ , Harry, you twit." 

__"Seriously? At this point I was beginning to think he wasn't real. Well this is great, mate. Go pounce on him."_ _

__"No, don't you listen? He has a girlfriend. Some blonde."_ _

__"Oh. That's a bummer."_ _

__"No it's not, he invited me to a party tonight. Be my boyfriend?" He offers a pleading smile and raises his eyebrows._ _

__It doesn't take long to convince Louis; in fact, he only says no once before agreeing. He does overthink the whole thing, though._ _

__"Do we have to wear matching outfits?" He asks at one point while preparing._ _

__"The fuck? We're boyfriends going to a party, not a married couple on a cruise."_ _

__"Right. Course. So no matching outfits? What if he doesn't get it though?"_ _

_Sigh._

__~*~*~*~_ _

__By small, Harry meant forty people, which, ok. Louis actually does find that small, so at least someone agrees. Forty is still large to Zayn, so he huffs out a breath when they walk in and Harry's nowhere to be found amongst all the people._ _

__Louis seems annoyed for another reason altogether. "This is like, the smallest party I've ever been to in my life. Even in school." Which Zayn laughs at._ _

__"Whatever, I'm getting drinks. Good thing we didn't match."_ _

__Zayn stands up taller and looks around the room for Harry, but no need, because soon a warm body hugs him from the side._ _

__"Zayn," Harry slurs, already smelling of tequila, "you came! Knew you would. Knew you'd come for me."_ _

__"Course. Where's Ash?"_ _

__Harry looks surprised and slightly confused. "Ash? We're not actually together. I don't know, it was just a thing."_ _

_Oh_. Oh. Shit. 

__Of course, because Zayn has remarkable luck, Louis shows up next to him just then. Harry steps back and gives Louis a kind smile._ _

__Zayn and Louis exchange eye contact. Zayn opens his mouth, then closes it. Fuck._ _

__"Hi. I'm Harry," Harry says when the silence becomes too long._ _

__"Harry! Hey, I'm Louis, Zayn's-"_ _

__"Best friend," Zayn cuts him off and slaps away the hand snaking itself around its waist. "Right, Lou? Best mates. Anyway. This is the Harry I spent the night with. Here at last. Finally."_ _

__Louis narrows his eyes, until it seems to dawn on him. "Ok? I guess I'll go, make some friends, then."_ _

__"Ok?"_ _

__"Alright, then. Bye."_ _

__Harry turns to look at Zayn once Louis leaves, a questioning look on his face. He bites back a laugh. "You're not together, are you?"_ _

__"No! Well, kind of, almost. No. No. Absolutely not. How'd your final go?"_ _

__"Alright, alright, but no more school talk. Let's get you something to drink, yeah?"_ _

__"Yeah."_ _

__Harry places three shots in front of Zayn in the kitchen and steps closer to Zayn after each one. Zayn doesn't even notice until he's downed all three and Harry's face is inches away from his._ _

__"So, it's next time, yeah?"_ _

__Zayn laughs sloppily, already drunk. "You remember that?"_ _

__"Course."_ _

__Zayn licks his lips and grins. "Guess you'll have to remind me"_ _

"If I have to," Harry breathes, now centimeters away, and closes the distance between them, and the music in his head _blasts_. 

__They kiss like they wanted to all those months ago, and not even ten seconds pass before Harry's tugging Zayn back to what Zayn assumes is his room._ _

__They stumble in and it's bold and messy and Zayn starts laughing because he can't believe all that time passed and here they are, where they wanted to be months ago, and that cliché pop song is booming in Zayn's head._ _

__"Wait, wait," Harry stops and looks around in his cabinets before pulling out a joint in a plastic sandwich bag. He fumbles around for a lighter, which takes longer than they expect, considering the lights are still off. Zayn sits on the bed and giggles some more while Harry lights it and takes a hit, before scrambling onto Zayn's lap and exhaling into his mouth._ _

__"More fun for us," Harry whispers and wiggles his eyebrows._ _

__They finish the joint in between laughs and flirtatious remarks, until they're both soaring._ _

They're not even hooking up so much as they're playing around. Zayn can't even believe how much fun they’re having, how light he feels, and he wonders whether it's the alcohol or the weed or just _Harry_ , as they roll around on his bed. They've stopped kissing because they're giggling so much and, contrary to popular belief, laughing into someone's mouth is not a pleasant feeling, so they've switched to laughing on each other's necks, which tickles and evokes even more laughter. The song is deafening now for both of them, and it's so clichéd, so cheesy romantic that they can't help but to play it out. After a while of breathless laughter, Zayn gathers himself a bit and flips them over so he's on top and kisses down Harry's neck. 

__He starts to fumble with his zip when Harry stops and says, "Hey, hey, I didn't wait all that time for a quick handie. Clothes off, Zayn", to which they both oblige and soon they're naked and pressed together and still laughing and that feels even better and as Harry pins him down and kisses him, Zayn feels like he's floating higher and higher with each whimper and moan. This time it's Harry who moves down his body and Zayn can barely breathe because each touch, each kiss feels like an explosion on his skin and he's about to whine and tell Harry to hurry up before Harry finally takes him in his mouth and that surprises Zayn so much he actually does a porn star groan. It's all serious for a moment, and then of course, Harry tickles him while sucking and Zayn nearly crushes his head between his thights and that gets them laughing again._ _

__It's glorious, really, how light the whole thing is. Harry crawls back up to kiss Zayn sloppily and then says, "fuck me, yeah?" into his ear._ _

__That gets Zayn so hard he's surprised he doesn't bust a nut right then and there, with Harry not even touching him anymore._ _

__"Wanna ride you, more fun," Harry says into his mouth and gets up to look for lube and a condom. The whole preparation takes what feels like ten seconds and Zayn's worried that Harry's not ready for him, but then he realizes he's probably having a brownout and doesn't remember, but soon enough, Harry's sinking down onto him and it all feels so surreal he wonders if the whole thing is a crazy wet dream, because it's too good. Harry surges down to kiss him and it's like electricity, how good they are together._ _

It's after a few thrusts that Zayn lets out another porn-worthy sound, so Harry does too, so the whole party can hear, and then they're banging on the headboard and Harry's moaning _harder babe_ dramatically and Zayn's eyes are squeezed shut because it's all so intense: how much he likes Harry and how much he _likes_ Harry. 

__It ends much sooner than it should, but they can't help it, and Zayn doesn't know about Harry but he comes harder than he has in a long time._ _

__They end up both lying on their backs, sweat in every crevice, panting. Even after, they're still touching. Harry's arm is thrown over Zayn's chest and their legs are overlapping._ _

__Zayn's glad it happened, more than anything._ _

__Harry laughs again, and so does Zayn._ _

__"My last name is Styles, by the way. What’s yours?"_ _

__"Huh? Oh, uh. Malik. Why?"_ _

__"For when we next see each other. Because we will. In fact, maybe there won’t be a next time. Maybe there will just be a this time that keeps going."_ _

__"Good."_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Comment thoughts and reviews and tell me what you think on [tumblr!](http://www.onepinetreehill.tumblr.com)


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